Most Days, That's Enough
by corikane
Summary: After Lisbon has been suspended (ep. 2.19), she gets an unexpected visit from her new boss. (No copyright infringement intended.)


**A/N: I like the chemistry between Lisbon and Hightower (Lightower? I like it.). I try to incorporate my little stories into the original timeline of the show and I will reference episodes. It's an ambitious endeavor and we will see how far I will be able to go with it. I hope it will culminate in some romance between the two - and I hope you'll read and like and review, maybe?**

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Suspension. She had been suspended before, two times, three if she counted the time Minelli had suspended her and the team but never filed the paperwork; she didn't count that. The first time, she had made a rookie mistake when she was still with the SFPD. The second time, she and Bosco had been investigated by Internal Affairs. Both times it had been her fault, she had done something wrong and she had taken responsibility - like a good cop should. But this time... really, there was no point in blaming Jane. She should have seen it coming, it was what he always did. And who could have foreseen that the defence attorney would search for Jane's prints? Still, it nagged her. No, it didn't nag her, it pissed her off, big time. She would have liked to shoot something but if she went to the shooting range she would run into colleagues and then she would have to explain... and would once again end up defending Jane and she really didn't want to do that tonight.

That was why Teresa Lisbon was sitting on the couch in her living room in sweats and a tank top, a chilled bottle of Heineken in her hand, and stared at her tv. She wasn't watching, her mind was on the case, on Jane, on Hightower... and on Kelly Flower. She was the victim, she was the one Lisbon felt she had let down. A frustrated grunt worked itself over Lisbon's lips before she took another swig of her beer.

There was a knock at her door. It wasn't entirely unexpected but she really didn't want to talk to Patrick right now.

"Go away!" she called out. She waited a moment, there was no answer and she stood up. There was another knock and Lisbon walked hesitantly to the door. She was too tired to engage in another round of witticisms thrown at her by her partner but she didn't want to be rude, either. She respected Jane, she just didn't have the patience to deal with him after today. It was his fault that Sylvan had walked. He had screwed up, big time.

"What is it?" Teresa asked through the closed door but it wasn't Patrick Jane who answered her.

"Agent Lisbon?" The female voice came back to her, a voice she knew but hadn't known long. Teresa frowned as she busied herself opening the door.

"Ma'am?" She asked puzzled when she finally pulled the door open and indeed saw special agent Hightower standing there.

"I wanted to... see if you were all right," Hightower said. She seemed only a little embarrassed by this visit, sincere concern for Lisbon stood in her eyes but there was something else, too. Curiosity, maybe?

"I'm... I'm good. I mean... it's..." But what was she supposed to say? That it was okay that she had been suspended? No, she hated it. She felt useless when she wasn't working. Sad, but true. So, she was angry and it wasn't okay.

"May I come in? I won't be long," Hightower asked, ignoring Lisbon's non-answer. Teresa pushed her door open and let her boss enter. She closed the door and pointed toward her living room. An awkward pause built between them as they walked the few feet into Teresa's living space, sparcely furnished, even more sparcely decorated with knick knacks that would make this place a home.

"Please, sit down. Would you like something to drink?" And on a sudden impulse, a dare that would have made Patrick proud, she asked: "A beer, maybe?"

Madeleine looked up at Teresa, saw the mischievous glimmer in her eyes as she sat down and smiled a small smile:

"Yeah, why not? A beer sounds good," she answered. Teresa grinned but went to her fridge to get another bottle of Heineken. She opened it for her boss and then handed the chilled bottle to the other woman. She sat down at her earlier post and turned the sound of her tv off. Hightower, meanwhile, took a swig of her beer. She nodded appreciatingly.

"Thank you." Teresa merely nodded. It was a strange situation. She wasn't sure what her superior wanted and she wasn't one to chit-chat. "I'm sorry to just barge in here like this. I... was on my way home but I thought maybe we could talk?" Hightower seemed to feel the strangeness also but she worked through it and Lisbon acknowledged that she probably wouldn't be here if there wasn't something on her mind. After all, she could be with her family right now instead of in Lisbon's spartan dwelling.

"What's on your mind?" she asked her superior.

"Patrick. And you. I'm a little... well, concerned, yes, but quite frankly I'm also baffled," the older woman confessed. Lisbon looked over at her and grinned again. It seemed she had had this conversation a thousand times, mostly with colleagues from every branch of law enforcement. They didn't understand, they hadn't worked with Jane and even after they had they were still more surprised that she could work with him at all. "There are a lot of stories making the rounds. I've heard a lot about him and most stories weren't very favorable." Hightower was shaking her head. "There are also some rumors about your relationship with Patrick. Are you aware of those?"

Teresa snorted but nodded.

"Yeah, I heard about them. They're ridiculous," she said and looked her boss staight in the eyes to eliminate any doubt the other woman might have.

"I don't think there's anything to those rumors or I would have addressed the issue, Lisbon. I'm not worried about you and Patrick having an intimate relationship," she assured the younger woman. "I'm more concerned about your work and the way Patrick influences how you handle it. I have already told you that he might be a deciding factor in how your career ends and what happened with the Flower case seems to exemplify my point. I must admit that I have... my regrets about how I started our working relationship, Lisbon. I wish I didn't threaten your job five minutes after meeting you - I wish I didn't have to. But... well, it seems to me that it was high time somebody told you what the stakes are." Hightower was surprised when she saw Lisbon smile at her words. It was a little self-deprecating but still a smile.

"I've been working with Jane for almost two years now, ma'am. I know what the stakes are. I know my job is on the line, I have known that from the day I started working with him," she told the African American woman who looked even more surprised now that she was hearing this. "Some days, it's infuriating. He hasn't had my training, my experience on the job. Yet he seems to do it better than me or anyone I've ever worked with. He's got inside into people, their behavior and I try to learn from him how he does it but... it's a slow process and he'll always be ahead of me. That's frustrating. His behavior is erratic, childish, rude and I sometimes wish I could talk to people as he does. But I have to be diplomatic because my jobs is as much about politics as it is about solving a crime, maybe even more so. But Jane doesn't care about pollitics, he doesn't have to. Is it easy to work with him? No, most of the time I feel like a kindergarden teacher scolding a four year-old. But then there are the moments I learn something about a suspect, the case... even human nature that I wouldn't have found out without him. And at the end of most working days, there is a confession, a murderer getting locked up." Teresa looked over at her boss, her pale green eyes boring into Hightower's dark ones. "I always loved my work, ma'am, but there were always days that ended in deep anger because I couldn't find the last clue to make an arrest, or see a killer walking away because I couldn't catch him in a lie. That doesn't happen anymore - or not very often," Teresa said and it was clear that she was thinking about what had happened earlier that same day.

The two women looked at each other for a long moment then Lisbon leaned over to open a folder that lay on her coffee table. She took a paper from it, it was a list with names and she gave it to agent Hightower. The older woman looked over the names, some were familiar to her but she didn't quite grasp who these people were.

"It's a list of the people my team has arrested in the last 22 months, most of them have been convicted. Most of them are murderers, some kidnappers, rapists, a few thieves. That's the work we were able to do because of Jane," she simply said.

Hightower nodded, her eyes still glued to the list. She had read the files of most of these cases, she could remember some of the complaints that had been launched by influential people during the procedings, but she had never seen a complete list like this, the big picture. She was seeing it now and she had to agree that Lisbon had a point.

"I feel like I should apologize for having underestimated you, agent Lisbon," she said but Teresa shook her head.

"That's not necessary, ma'am." And again she smiled and Madeleine couldn't help her own answering smile.

"I never thought that you weren't a good agent, Lisbon. The recommendations in your file are very impressive, the way you handled what was probably the greatest disaster in the CBI's history... I don't think anyone could have done it any better." Teresa's face sobered instantly as her superior referred to what had also been a disaster in her own life, the attack on Bosco's team which ended in a friend's death. "The CBI can be very proud of you - I know I am. And I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I'm not. You have a good team and you're a very good leader, agent."

"Thank you, ma'am," Lisbon acknowledged the compliment. Hightower nodded while looking earnestly at the younger woman for a short while. Then she roused herself out of her thoughts and got up off the couch. She straightened her jacket.

"Well, thank you for satisfying my curiosity, agent Lisbon. I guess I should leave you to... your program," she said with a short glance at the tv that now showed some crime show or other.

Teresa got up off the couch also and walked her superior to the door.

"It's not like I was really watching," she confessed in a small voice. She opened the door for Hightower and the two women looked at each other for another moment.

"I will make sure the PSU works as fast as possible to clear your name, Lisbon," Hightower promised.

"Thank you, ma'am." They nodded at each other and the older woman walked out into a mild California evening. Lisbon closed the door and leaned against it for a moment. She still felt that it was strange that her boss had visited her but it had been a good visit. They had cleared the air between them and Teresa felt some of her irritation with her new boss leave her body. Maybe Jane had been right from the start, maybe Hightower did like her. And when was Jane ever wrong?


End file.
